anyways im glad teams are targetting the Suns players and rightly so.. I hope the Suns have a messed up financial situation for many many years.. J
I don't see how Joe Johnson has any cap implications to PHX. They are over the cap and are going to be so for a very long time. If the cap remains relatively constant at the projected $44m for the next 4 years and PHX has $36+m/yr or so tied up in Nash, Marion and Amare...Johnson is inconsequential. Maybe there are LTax issues but over the cap by a mil or 10 mil is still over the cap.
Of course the Hawks would give Joe Johson a max deal because they so desperatly need a 2/3. I mean they only have Josh Smith,Josh Childress,Marvin Williams,and Al Harrington.
How about Al Harrington for some expiring contracts? You think they`d be interested. Yao Al TMac Not bad
I guess it would give them a chance to move Marvin Williams (has he signed yet?) for some A-level talent. Well, A- anyway. Poor Phoenix. $13 mil for Nash, Amare will get his max, Shawn Marion already has his max, and Joe Johnson will have to choose between big money and a winning team or bigger money and a potential team....IF Atlanta can land someone decent with the rest of its available money (Eddy Curry?)
Joe Johnson is an all star caliber 2 guard. And he will only get better. He deserves this kind of money IMO.
redd gets $90M+ allen gets $70M+ houghes might get $70M+ johnson will end up with $70M+ next on the market is cat, but is there any other team with that kind of money left? one great thing this offseason...teams are spending all of thier money on guards! leaving the PF's high and dry for the rockets!!
so in theory they can't sign any players outside of their own players or get players through S&T only right? I just think that with those four, they don't have any room to sign any bench/role players that they might need in the long run.
Exactly what I was thinking. They'll be forced to break up that team within 2-3 years. In 06-07, when Amare's max extension starts: Marion - 15 million Nash - 10 mill Joe Johnson ~ 13 mill Amare ~ 11 mill 4 guys alone pulling nearly 50 million. And if Nash's hamstrings and ankles are looking their age...... Evan
You are totally missing the point or are confusing cap space with the Luxury Tax. An over the cap team has the draft, MLE, vet exceptions and SnT to alter their roster. The Suns are over the cap with or without Johnson. Hence, they neither gain nor lose any roster changing ability whether Johnson goes to ATL or re-signs.
But they are still working within a budget. Phoenix is not one of those teams that can carry as much salary as they want (the Colangelos have had to trim payroll for the Diamondbacks before). If they match JJ, and give Amare his due max contract, then in a couple of years their payroll could be upwards of $60 million just for their starting five. This would cut into their ability to use the MLE, and might force them to consider dealing a guy like Marion, for some salary relief. Ultimately this means that Phoenix can't really get better. Only make lateral moves. People say that this will be a concern for Phoenix capwise, but they just mean that it's a concern payroll-wise.
Thanks. I tend to differentiate among cap (space), LTax and payroll. Guess everyone doesn't make the distinction.
I wonder if Atlanta could front-load the contract for JJ the way that Utah did for Boozer last year, and make it virtually impossible for Phoenix to match (due to the luxury tax implications).
They could do that, but that wouldn't phase Phoenix because right now their payroll isn't that high. Certainly not in danger of LT. It's when Amare gets his max contract and a year or two after that when everybody's (Marion, Nash, Johnson, Thomas) salary keeps escalating, then they will have to worry about the LT.
This is so stupid. JJ isn't worth near that much. Either Atlanta will completely screw up their salary structure, or they'll screw up Phoenix's. Either one is good for Houston, but it's so dumb. My bet is that if Atlanta does offer the max, Phoenix will not match.
I like to think of it as either Phoenix screws up their salary structure or they regress as a team. I mean what will they be if they lose JJ and have to trot out a lineup of Nash, Raja Bell, Marion, Thomas, and Amare. No way they can have as much success next season with that lineup. I bet that they will match even a max offer. Re-signing Johnson is that important to the team.
Exactly. Either the Suns match the offer which screws up their salary structure probably forcing them to move Marion thereafter (for LT/cap relief), or the Suns let JJ go and their gunners (JJ and Q) are gone and they are left with Bell and Thomas. Downgrade. On the other hand, maybe the Suns new ownership are willing to pay the big bucks to keep that team together. Maybe they are willing to have a 70M payroll.
